Health Minister Mary Harney is due to attend an emergency EU meeting in Luxembourg today to coordinate efforts to prevent the spread of swine flu in Europe.

PASSENGERS at Dublin airport are experiencing the worst delays for five years, new figures show.

The head of under-fire UK airport operating company BAA is to step down, the Spanish-owned firm is expected to announce later today.

The Dublin stock exchange finished the day down 0.48 points at 6790.29 today.

The ISEQ was up 10.54 points at 10.30am today at 6801.31.

According to the Association of European Airlines (AEA) customer-service statistics for July to September 2005, Ryanair was the most punctual major scheduled carrier in Europe.

AIRLINES across Europe, including Aer Lingus, have opposed the development of a new EU website which would provide air passengers with information on their performance.

Travellers are returning to the skies in growing numbers, European airlines said today.

European airlines’ passenger traffic rose 16% in the week ended May 9, as demand on Far East routes rebounded from the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) a year earlier, an industry group said.

The Association of European Airlines has said that European airlines' international traffic rose 3.4% in the period February 9-15 from a year earlier .

The Association of European Airlines has said that European airlines reported a year-on-year passenger traffic rise of 3.6% in the period January 16 to Febrary 1.

British Airways and 17 other European airlines have been given two months to explain their Internet ticket sales practices after the EC received complaints from passengers.

Ryanair has reportedly established a stronger lobbying presence among other low-fare airlines, but the venture has been boycotted by leading rivals including EasyJet.

RYANAIR has failed to persuade its main competitors to join its planned lobby group for European low-cost airlines.

The Association of European Airlines has said that European airlines' international traffic in the week of November 3rd to 9th was up by 6.1% on the same period a year earlier.

European airlines saw its international traffic rise 4.3% during a week in October this year compared to October 2002.

The Association of European Airlines said has reported that European airline passenger traffic rose 4.0% in the week to Sept 7, but noted that this improvement on the previous week gave little cause for encouragement.

I REFER to Michael Brennan’s article headlined ‘Aer Lingus pledges fare play for customers’ (Irish Examiner, August 26).

The Association of European Airlines has reported that European airlines' international traffic rose 3.8% from a year earlier in the week of August 18-24, describing the recovery as "frail".

European airline traffic in June fell 0.5% from a year earlier, showing signs of recovery, albeit from very low levels, the Association of European Airlines (AEA) said.

AER Lingus and Ryanair are bucking the trend as European airlines’ losses are expected to widen to as much as $2.5 billion in 2003, it emerged yesterday.

RYANAIR flew 34% more passengers in April as the carrier added routes and cut fares amid a travel slump caused by the Iraq war and SARS.

European airlines today appealed for governments to help loss-burdened carriers survive the Iraq crisis, which the industry blamed for compounding the ”worst crisis in its history.”

European airlines need an international insurance fund if they are to avoid a crisis like the one that hit US carriers after Sept 11, according to a senior member of the Association of European Airlines.

Almost 28% of flights out of Dublin Airport depart at least 15 minutes late, according to a survey by the Association of European Airlines.

European governments, not airlines, should foot the bill for upgrading air security in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, a leading lobbyist claimed today.

The Christmas spirit did nothing to boost air traffic on North Atlantic routes still suffering from the post September 11 economic doldrums, the 28 member Association of European Airlines reported today.